Family members were saying their final goodbyes Wednesday to a 4-year-old boy killed by his father in what Fort Lauderdale Police believe was a murder-suicide.
The funeral service for little Greyson Kessler was held in Southwest Ranches Wednesday morning.
The bodies of Kessler and his father, 47-year-old John Stacey, were found Friday night at Stacey's condo building in Fort Lauderdale.
Officials said a preliminary investigation showed Stacey shot and killed his son before turning the gun on himself. Police believe the shootings happened sometime on Thursday.
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Hours before their bodies were found, the boy's mother, Alison Kessler, had sought to have him removed from the father's custody, saying he had been sending her threatening text messages and stalking her, even putting a tracking device on her car, court records showed. A judge denied the emergency pick-up order.
Fort Lauderdale Police said they're still investigating the incident.
"This is a parent’s worst nightmare. We understand the mother and family of the child victim are feeling an immense amount of grief at this time. We want to ensure them, and our community, we will be conducting a full investigation into this incident," police said in a statement.
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"Greyson was the kindest, smartest, most animated kid we have ever known. Greyson’s mother, Alison Kessler, did everything she could to keep her child safe from harm. We feel that the system failed us at every level, from her attorney to the police department, to the court system," the Kessler family said in a statement Monday.
